NB Chapter49

Zhang Mingsheng brought back a bouquet of flowers today; seeing me reading, he turned and placed them on the nightstand.

It has been several days since I was captured and brought back. My range of movement has diminished, and I rarely go downstairs. It isn’t that Zhang Mingsheng forbids it, but rather that I truly lack the will to move. Even reading has become much more taxing than before as if my brain wishes to remain in a comfort zone and was unwilling to think. Since Zhang Mingsheng laid his state of mind bare before me, I didn’t know how to react. I simply slept fitfully for several days. When I opened my eyes again, I heard him say that Keke and Xiao Yuan had returned. I had no intention of seeing them.

Thus, Zhang Mingsheng did not bring it up again.

Having reached this point, what else is left for this home but hollow attrition?

I glanced at the bouquet. It was wrapped in layered shades of cyan paper with several sprigs of tender green and white spiraea peeking out. The moth orchids were also plain white, gathered in clusters that looked almost fragile; rather unlike Zhang Mingsheng’s usual taste.

He owns an entire garden, one meticulously tended to by an old butler who loves and understands flowers; he himself doesn’t quite understand the significance of a bouquet.

I drew the flowers closer, holding them in my arms, and took a card from within the soft petals. The writing on it was rigid and somewhat hurried, as though it had been scrawled in haste.

I read it silently, swallowing every word into my throat: Brother Chao, I’ve seen the sea in many different places.

The signature consisted of two characters: Leshan.

In that instant, the words suddenly seemed to come alive. Shanshan looked bright and energetic, but in her work, she had clearly taken after her mother’s temperament; she wrote with quick, decisive strokes as though she wished she could create the simplest possible symbols, two circles that anyone in the world could understand. Perhaps she was simply too clever and possessed a great deal of impatience when facing slow-witted people. My mentor always criticized her for it, but Shimu never took it to heart. She herself appeared kind and gentle, yet she handled trouble with great efficiency; perhaps because she grew up in a large family and didn’t get a narrow attic of her own until she was thirteen, she cherished her solitude and disliked wasting time on irrelevant people or matters. Shanshan inherited this. I think it is a good thing.

I never expected the bouquet to be from Shanshan. When did she return to Hong Kong? Where did she send the flowers, and how did they end up in Zhang Mingsheng’s hands?

I looked up and stared at Zhang Mingsheng warily. This man is sinister and deeply vengeful; there is no telling if he might target everyone connected to me. I asked, “Where did the flowers come from?”

“The cemetery,” Zhang Mingsheng replied without concealment. He took off his coat and pushed his hair back, revealing his forehead and making the bridge of his nose appear even more prominent. “We arrived one after the other and happened to cross paths.”

“Did you speak to each other?”

“Of course not.” Zhang Mingsheng smiled thinly. “I waited until she had walked away before I took them.”

Thief.

However, he had no reason to lay a hand on Shanshan. She was a few years younger than me yet had been outstanding since childhood; even in middle school she was already earning prize money from various competitions, whereas I didn’t receive my first salary until after graduating from the police academy; and after paying rent, there was barely anything left. For her birthday that year, I couldn’t even afford a crystal snow globe, so I ended up choosing a card instead; I was almost embarrassed to take it out. She accepted it happily and even generously shared her cake with me. She was always superior to those around her; she never benefited from any “blessings” of mine.

“I didn’t think Shanshan would return to Hong Kong,” I murmured to myself while playing with the card. Leaving without warning and returning just as suddenly… she was far more mature than the rest of us, able to truly walk away whenever she decided to. Emotion welled up in me, but then I recalled something and asked Zhang Mingsheng again, “What were you doing at the cemetery? Were you there to pay your respects to me?”

“Visiting a friend,” Zhang Mingsheng walked over, lay down, and rested his head on my lap. He looked completely worn out; as soon as he lay down, he closed his eyes, his eyeballs shifting faintly beneath his eyelids. It was a rare sight to see him like this; he had just come back from the office. It seems that work is far more grueling than being a local madman or a deviant.

“You actually have friends?” I mocked him intentionally. I heard him laugh; he knew, as well as I did, that I wasn’t truly looking for an answer.

“I truly have no friends like Li Yi.” he said, bringing up Li Yi yet again.

“There is nothing left of me for you to trample upon,” I said while looking down. “Promise me, if you still hate me, come at me directly.”

Zhang Mingsheng did not respond; he seemed to have fallen asleep.

But I knew he was a monster with eyes at the back of his head, a malevolent god who could hear everything from every direction. I was trapped within his temple, unable to live, unable to die, left only with the ability to ask questions and search for answers.

“Mr. Zhang?” I called out to him.

“Mm.” He replied. As expected, he wasn’t asleep. It was just that his response was even worse than that of a smart home robot; even a vacuum or a smart speaker would say at least two words when a human calls its name.

“Where are my gun and my credentials?” I looked down at his face as I asked, an involuntary, intense longing slipping into my voice.

I had killed no one, yet I bore the suspicion of murder. For all these years, the only person with the opportunity to use my ID and service weapon was Zhang Mingsheng. He framed me; he took his revenge on me. I wanted to hear him say it himself.

The moment the words left my mouth; however, I felt a twinge of regret. The probe sounded clumsy.

Being so close, I could hear his even breathing. His injuries hadn’t fully healed; there was still a gauze pad on his head, though the bandages had been removed from his arm, making it impossible to tell if he was truly alright. His neck looked just like anyone else’s, even marked by a small mole on the side; it was ordinary, vulnerable and almost warm. If I simply reached out, closed my hand around it, and tightened my grip to the end, it wouldn’t take long for him to turn purple, lose consciousness, or even die. If only I acted, if only I could catch him off guard.

I lowered my head further and raised my hands.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes, his expression hovering between a smile and a sneer. Without so much as a blink, he watched me in silence. I had always found the term “leisurely composure” to be an attractive quality, but when embodied by Zhang Mingsheng, it only made my heart palpitate, forcing me to avert my gaze.

I had no choice but to relax my hands and rest them back on the bed.

“Those are your things, Officer Yu; I returned them to their rightful owner long ago.” Zhang Mingsheng said slowly. He finally began to blink as if the demons possessing him had been exorcised, returning him to the state of an ordinary mortal.

Returned to their owner? What did that even mean? I was right here, yet I hadn’t the slightest clue what his answer implied.

“…Teacher said he found my ID at the scene.” I said with difficulty, uncertain whether I should be sharing this information with him.

“Oh?” Zhang Mingsheng seemed to show a faint spark of interest.

“Was it you?”

“What benefit would I gain from doing that?”

“Making me a murderer as well.”

“Making you a murderer so that you can’t run away from me and have to stay by my side? Officer Yu, I really must enjoy making trouble for myself then.” Zhang Mingsheng laughed. He pushed himself up from my lap, shifted around to lie on the pillow, and closed his eyes again. He adjusted his head, seemingly searching for a comfortable position.

I sat beside him. After a few minutes of silence, I heard him speak, “You won’t be able to strangle me. Your hands aren’t strong enough.”

As he finished speaking, I bit through my lip, filling my mouth with the salty taste of blood. My eyes drifted toward the doorway, where I suddenly saw Zhang Xiaoyuan standing.

His small face was set in a serious expression, and though his left hand was trembling, he still gripped a folder tightly.

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